Hempfield’s High Park Volunteer Fire Department is coming out of retirement and merging with the West Point station on the opposite side of the township.
Westmoreland County Orphan’s Court approved the merger this week, according to court documents.
The joint station will be operate under West Point’s name and location off Volunteer Drive in the eastern portion of the township.
High Park and West Point will now meet with township officials to discuss the merger and transfer of equipment out of High Park’s station, said attorney Kim Houser.
Merging has become more common in the fire service in recent years, said Houser, who has assisted with similar partnerships at fire departments statewide.
He said difficulties attracting enough volunteers and rising equipment costs contribute to the conversation.
“How many hoagies does it take to buy a $1.3 million fire truck?” he said.
West Point and High Park have discussed merging in the past, West Point Captain Miles Webb Jr. said. The idea came to the forefront when High Park ended its operations last year.
The merger is meant to “continue what was started” by both stations’ founders, Webb said.
“There are a few lifetime members still left at their station,” he said. “I think they just didn’t want to see their members left out with nowhere to go.”
Former High Park members could not be reached for comment.
The two stations are located about 9 miles from each other.
“We are far apart, but there are other things that the members can help us with other than the actual running of calls,” Webb said, including administrative tasks.
Stations push for merger after probation lift
High Park shuttered its service in February 2024 after spending nearly two years on probation for failing to respond to emergency calls. The station responded to one of 53 emergency calls in the last three months of 2023, according to the township.
At the time, it was given three options by township officials: dissolve, merge with a neighboring fire station or go under township management.
Hempfield officials renewed their push in recent years to invite more stations to become nonchartered, meaning they would be financially supported and managed by the township. North Hempfield is the only station to complete the process.
All of the stations, except for West Point and Bovard, have expressed some level of interest in becoming nonchartered, said Township Manager Aaron Siko. Midway-St. Clair could complete the process by the end of the summer, he said, and Fort Allen and Grapeville could be done early in the fall.
It is unclear how many active members and pieces of equipment High Park may still have. Anything owned by the township has been returned, Siko said.
West Point has about 10 active members, Webb said.
West Point also has had difficulties responding to calls in recent years.
The station was put on probation in June 2021 for failing to respond to 81 calls in the first half of the year, as well as resignations and transfers of members. The department responded to 11 of 137 calls between July and November of 2021.
Probation was lifted in 2023.
The Hempfield supervisors authorized in January the release of West Point’s third and fourth quarter allocations for 2024. It had been withheld when township officials learned the fire station’s deed was transferred to the West Point Community Parks and Recreation Center Inc.
But Siko said, “West Point provided a lease agreement that shows that they’re permitted to operate from that building.”
High Park station slated for Mutual Aid
According to Siko, neither West Point or High Park notified the township of the merger outside of the legal process.
“West Point has not come to the township and really talked to us directly about their merger or what their future plans are,” he said.
Siko added “the township has no reason to object” to the merger now that it has received approval from the court.
High Park’s former building will be transferred to Mutual Aid Ambulance Service, according to court documents.
Mutual Aid community outreach Director Ken Bacha said High Park approached the ambulance service following the station’s closure last year.
Mutual Aid used to house an ambulance in Hempfield in a building owned by the Adamsburg Volunteer Fire Department. The ambulance was moved out when the fire station put the building up for sale at least a year ago, Bacha estimated.
Featured Local Businesses
High Park’s station, located along Baughman Avenue, would provide Mutual Aid easier access to western Hempfield, Jeannette, Route 30, the Route 66 Bypass and the turnpike, Bacha said.
“I plotted out the driving time and mileage between that station and different key places around that area,” he said, “and it’s in a perfect spot for us to hit that whole western part of our service area.”
The next closest Mutual Aid stations are located in Greensburg and New Stanton. The ambulance service stationed a vehicle at the Jeannette Fire Department in May, about 10 months after Jeannette EMS abruptly closed its doors.
Jeannette pays Mutual Aid $12,000 annually. It’s the only municipality of 32 in Mutual Aid’s Westmoreland and Fayette County service area that financially contributes to the ambulance service.
High Park must sign its station deed over to Mutual Aid before the ambulance service can move into the building, Bacha said. He estimates this could happen sometime in the next few weeks.
“It’s going to help the people that we serve,” he said.